[Rokrin]

DONKEY KONG (3)
The other Kong is a bit easier to deal with. He’s a deceptive monkey, what with his unexpected speed and physical range. Many of his attacks have good knockback and damage, but he has no way to deal with projectiles and has no projectiles of his own. Spam Pikmin throw and long-range attacks and don’t get too close to him. Watch his aerials and be careful when using your own. Exploit his recover—it has horrible vertical usage. Control and use the spacing to your advantage and you’ll win the match.

FALCO (2.5)
If this was the Falco from Melee, this would probably be a (1). Thank Sakurai it isn’t. Watch out for his reflector and stunning lasers, but also watch his smash attacks and chain grab. Keep close to Falco. Make sure to take special care in your shielding and dodges. Use short-hopped aerials to have extra protection against his chain grab. A weird but beatable opponent.

FOX (2)
This is our first opponent with an advantage. His reflector keeps to his body, so Pikmin throw is nigh useless unless you’re trying to knock him away with Purples. Lasers don’t stun but can still rack up your damage. He’s very fast, faster than Falco, and his attacks are quick and connect well, so you’ll need to really pay attention for this guy. Your grabs, smash attacks, and mindgames will probably your best weapons for this fight.

GAME AND WATCH (3)
Not much to say about G&W. Watch out for his aerials and smash attacks. Have Olimar use aerials and smashes against him. Your grabs and throws will be lovely in this match too. Pikmin throwing is nice too. Kind of a boring match, but it’s still in your favor.

GANONDORF (4)
He’s stronger than Falcon, but you can see his attacks coming from a mile away and they end slowly too. Almost any strategy will work against Ganondorf because of this, so long as you know when to get away from him, but that’s pretty easy. Watch out for his aerials and most of his slow-but-strong attacks and you’ll definitely win.

ICE CLIMBERS (1)
Ice Climbers are scary. If your Pikmin latches onto Nana it will do virtually nothing. Many of their attacks knock Pikmin off, and most of the same attacks can stop you in your tracks. Grabs and F-smash will be especially valuable when fighting these guys. The fight becomes a bit easier if you can get Nana out of the way, but it still won’t be a walk in the park. Whether you have just Popo or Popo and Nana, you won’t be in for an easy fight.

IKE (4)
Prepare yourself, you’ll get no sympathy from him because he fights for his friends ^_^
Now that that’s out of the way, this fight is disgusting. He’s a tank—slow and strong. You’re not, but that’s a good thing. Almost everything he does can be seen way early, but you’ll be sorry if you’re stupid enough to stick around. The only thing you need to really watch out for is the space between the two of you and his Quick Draw (Side+B).

IVYSAUR (3)
Ivysaur is deadly if you’re caught in the air. It has Bullet Seed (B), a beastly U-smash, U and D-air, and a U-throw that can throw you up just enough to get caught in almost any of those options. Razor Leaf (Side+B) is bound to be spammed too. Just shield and/or dodge until it loses patience and rushes you. From there, you should try to counter. Never be above Ivysaur.

JIGGLYPUFF (4)
Another boring match-up, but it’s in your advantage. Show off your range and throwing abilities and don’t let Jiggly get too close. Nuff’ said. Try to kill it with aerials if it’s trying to recover, but watch out for Pound (Side+B)

KING DEDEDE (4)
He’s big like Bowser, but he floats like Jigglypuff. He’s slow, but he has some quick tools of damage. He’ll probably throw a lot of underlings with Side+B; take care that you dodge the Gordos (spike balls) if any decide to pop out. Many of his strongest attacks are easily punishable; you’ll recognize the moments. Throwing Pikmin is wonderful here. Should be a relatively easy match.

KIRBY (2)
You’re probably asking why Kirby is a (2). Multiple reasons: Kirby can absorb you and utilize both your B and Side+B attacks, he’s a tinier target, he can get your Pikmin off quite easily, he out-prioritizes most of your attacks, and he can string combos together with relative easy. He’s a threatening little guy. Make sure he stays away from you if he wants to rush you. Use your smash attacks to good use and grab and throw if you can. You can also do good things with Up+B if Kirby decides to stall in the air or recover from above.

LINK (4)
Patience is the key to this fight. He’ll probably spam his many projectiles, so you should spam your Pikmin back. Wait until he loses patience and tries to rush you, and then punish the guy. Be aware of his bombs and don’t get caught in his U-smash. Crack into his many slower attacks with your faster ones, especially aerials or smashes.

LUCARIO (2.5)
Pikmin throw can instantly be eliminated with almost all of his moves. He can even double up to both eliminate Pikmin and attack you with attacks such as Aura Sphere (B), Counter (Down+B), and U-tilt. His range is deceptive, but so is yours. The one who controls the spacing and takes the major offense will probably win this fight.

LUCAS (2.5)
Being a Lucas player myself one of the main things you need to watch out for is PK Fire (Side+B). It comes out relatively quick, does decent damage and knockback (not KO worthy, but still…), and has mad mindgame potential. Lucas has really weird aerials and smashes that you need to watch out for. His U-smash is pretty much an instant KO at any damage amount past 50% and his D-smash hits from behind on the 3rd hit. He has a tether and can chase you with PK Thunder (Up+B) (hitting himself to hit you or simply following with the thunder itself). Stay close to Lucas and barrage him. His smashes are a bit slow so you have a window to back away. Don’t let him abuse his projectiles. It’s possible to chain grab Lucas if he doesn’t know what he’s going into.

LUIGI (2)
Just like Kirby, Luigi out-prioritizes many of your attacks, so be wary, especially with his aerials. His cyclone (Down+B) is surprisingly quick horizontally and can be used as a pseudo-recovery alongside his Missile (Side+B) and Jump Punch (Up+B). Don’t let him spam you with fireballs. Grab and throw him, use well-timed smashes, and expect to counter a cyclone rush at any moment.

MARIO (3)
The main worry about Mario is his F.L.U.D.D (Down+B). If timed right he can kill your Pikmin in mid-air with a water soak and hinder your already-sub-par recovery. Many of his attacks are pretty quick and strong enough too. Basic Olimar strategy should be used here—just watch when throwing Pikmin and recovering.

MARTH (2)
Marth’s attacks are quick and have high priority. Be careful when using your long-range offenses, as he can easily land a sweet-spot F-smash or similar attack on you. F-air is very quick and one of his best moves, and it absolutely destroys Olimar, so staying in the air isn’t the best idea either. Basically, play defense and royally punish his mistakes. Be very careful in this fight.